Discover
Process workshops, data audit, and a fit-gap against the standard product.
Phase 1 · Awareness
Implementation governance and risk
Total cost of ownership for Dynamics 365: a framework for licences, ISVs, implementation and support
A framework for comparing the whole cost of a Dynamics 365 decision, across licensing, ISV add-ons, implementation and long-term managed services.
The short answer
The licence is the smallest surprise. Cost the whole life of the system: licences, add-ons, implementation, data, integration, support and the cost of each extension at every update.
Stages
Six cost lines over five years
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1
Licences Users by type, and the platform products you need, for the full term.
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2
ISV add-ons Per-user or per-entity fees for the products that add local compliance and industry features.
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3
Implementation Discovery, design, build, data, testing, training and go-live.
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4
Integration and data Interfaces, migration and the people who own them.
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5
Run and support Managed service, monitoring, update waves and testing.
Decision points
Three questions that change the answer
Will it run in more than one country?
YesAdd the local layer and its update cost for each country.
NoCost a single entity.
Is internal capacity available to run it?
YesCost the team and the training.
NoCost a managed service.
Are there extensions?
YesAdd the cost of retesting each one at every update.
NoThe update cost is minimal.
Milestones
What done looks like, and when
- Before selection A five-year cost model for each option.
- Before signature Assumptions agreed and written.
- At go-live Model updated with real numbers.
- Yearly Actual cost compared with the model.
Principles we hold to
- Cost the life, not the licence.
- Every extension has an update cost.
- Compare options on the same assumptions.
- Update the model with real numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What does Dynamics 365 really cost?
It depends on users, entities, integrations, data migration and the gaps found against standard. Our pricing page explains what drives the number.
What is included in the total cost of ownership?
Licences, ISV add-ons, implementation, integration and data, and the cost of running, supporting and updating the system.
Take this to your own programme.
Tell us where you are. We will tell you plainly what this means for your estate and what we would do first.
Book a consultation
Next: Agentic ERP: autonomous workflows inside Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain →
How an engagement runs
01
02
03
04
It starts with a 45-minute consultation, then a discovery and fit-gap workshop on your own processes. You receive a written fit-gap and a phased plan before a programme is agreed. Four phases follow, each with something you can use and review.
Design
Solution blueprint, integration map, and the extensions we will actually need.
Deploy
Configuration, migration rehearsal, role-based training, UAT and phased cutover.
Support
Hypercare, managed services, client portal, scheduled optimisation reviews.
What drives the cost: users, legal entities and currencies, integrations, data migration and the gaps found against standard. See how pricing works, run the three-minute readiness score, or book a consultation.